Not as bad as 'Sudden Death'

By Lou Gaul, Calkins Media Film Critic

Tuesday

Apr 28, 2009 at 12:01 AM

With “JCVD,” Jean-Claude Van Damme goes from being a kung-fu warrior to an introspective soul.

Don’t laugh.

The native of Belgium enjoyed big-screen success in hits such as “Universal Soldier” (1992), “Hard Target” (1993) and“Timecop” (1994),” but then his appeal to action fans started to dim with 1995's "Sudden Death," where his ex-fireman character battled terrorists inside Mellon Arena as the Pittsburgh Penguins were trying to wrap up Game Seven of a Stanley Cup final. In the last decade, he has appeared only in low-budget, direct-to-video martial arts movies.

The 48-year-old athlete-turned-actor, who was originally dubbed The Muscles From Brussels, knew he needed to do something drastic to get noticed in the film world.

The critically acclaimed, little-seen “JCVD” — due out today, costing $19.99 on DVD and $34.99 on Blue-Ray — was his brave attempt to do that.

In the creatively offbeat satire, which sometimes seems like a reality show, the former action favorite plays a has-been character very much like himself.

During “JCVD,” directed by Brussels-based filmmaker Mabrouk El Mechri, Van Damme deals with a declining career, fights for custody of his daughter, and faces competition from Steven Seagal for roles. He then becomes involved in a real-life hostage situation in which he butts heads with the police and the perpetrators.

In a Newsweek interview in November at the time of the R-rated film’s release, Van Damme discussed his reasons for exposing his regrets, frustrations and hopes to the world.

“I made this just to show some of the internal side of JCVD, in a way,” he says — speaking of himself in the third person — in the magazine. “He’s a guy, a normal guy from Belgium with dreams.

“I did well [at the beginning of his career] in that type of path.”

Van Damme described the independent film as beautiful, explaining: “I really opened myself up in ‘JCVD.’ I peeled back the skin of the fruit, cut the pulp, and then took that very hard seed.

“In this film, I cut that hard seed, and inside that seed was a kind of liquid cream substance of the man I am.”

At the peak of his career, Van Damme was known for his philandering and partying ways. He has no second thoughts about his bad-boy behavior.

“Believe me — I’ve done very good stuff and very crazy stuff,” he says, “and I don’t regret the crazy stuff.”

The surprisingly insightful, highly entertaining “JCVD” certainly puts him on the path to rediscovery.

‘Wrestler’ rocks on Blu-ray

Like “JCVD,” director Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” (Fox; $29.99, DVD; $39.99, Blu-ray Disc; now available), starring Mickey Rourke, deals with a former star — in this case a lord-of-the-ring wrestler — looking back on the shambles he made of his personal life.

Rourke, who received an Oscar nomination as best actor, reignites his career by playing Randy “The Ram” Robinson, an aging professional grappler who suffers from steroid abuse and says, “I’m an old, broken-down piece of meat, and I’m alone.”

He’s willing to get in the ring and put his life on the line if it offers an opportunity to reconnect with his daughter.

As with Van Damme, the immensely talented Rourke allowed bad-boy behavior to destroy his screen career. Like “JCVD,” “The Wrestler,” which co-stars Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood, reflects the personal pain of its main character, a man seeking personal redemption and willing to go to extreme lengths to achieve it.

Aronofsky often gives his film a gritty documentary look, which is captured in the Blu-ray Disc pressing. With its limited budget and seedy locations, “The Wrestler” may not be the type of film one would consider a strong high-def candidate, but the state-of-the-art format adds welcome visual detail.

Now Playing!

The following DVD titles recently landed at a video store near you.

If your local outlet doesn’t stock them, the DVD offerings can be mail-ordered by calling 800-523-0823 or going to the Web site moviesunlimited.com or amazon.com, unless otherwise noted.

Movies

“Black Swarm” (RHI Entertainment; $14.99, DVD; now available) with Robert Englund (“A Nightmare on Elm Street”) in an unrated chiller about a mentally unbalanced scientist who unleashes a mutant breed of killer bees on an unsuspecting town.

“Bride Wars” (Fox; $29.99, DVD; $39.99, Blu-ray Disc; April 28) with Anne Hathaway (“Rachel Getting Married”) and Kate Hudson (“Fool’s Gold”) in a PG-rated comedy about best friends who use very dirty tricks to battle each other after their weddings are planned for the same day and time at New York’s Plaza Hotel.

“Johnny Got His Gun” (Shout! Factory; $19.99, DVD; April 28) with Timothy Bottoms (“The Last Picture Show”) and Donald Sutherland (“Don’t Look Now”) in director Dalton Trumbo’s long-awaited, R-rated pacifistic drama about a young soldier wounded by a mortar shell on the last day of World War I and left a blind, deaf and mute quadruple amputee. The numerous DVD extras include an interview with Bottoms, behind-the-scenes footage, a 1940 radio adaptation of “Johnny Got His Gun” starring James Cagney, and the original theatrical trailer.

“Nothing But the Truth” (Sony; $24.99, DVD; April 28) with Matt Dillon (“Crash”), Kate Beckinsale (“Vacancy”), Angela Bassett (“What’s Love Got to Do With It”), Vera Farmiga (“The Departed”) and David Schwimmer (TV’s “Friends”) in a fact-based tale, rated R, about a Washington D.C. reporter who writes a controversial story on a CIA operative and is imprisoned for refusing to divulge her source.

“The Tenth Circle” (Sony; $24.99, DVD; now available) with Kelly Preston (“Jerry Maguire”) and Ron Eldard (“House of Sand and Fog”) in a Lifetime TV drama about a girl who accuses her ex-boyfriend of rape. The unrated picture is based on the novel by Jodi Picoult.

“The Uninvited” (Paramount; $29.99, DVD; $39.99, Blu-ray Disc; April 28) with Elizabeth Banks (“Invincible”) in a PG-13 chiller about a young woman who returns home after a stay in a psychiatric hospital and discovers that an evil spirit has invaded her room.

“Sex & Lies in Sin City” (Sony; $24.99, DVD; April 28) with Mena Suvari (“Stuck”), Marcia Gay Harden (“Pollock”) and Matthew Modine (“Full Metal Jacket”) in an unrated Lifetime TV movie about a Las Vegas casino executive found dead from an apparent overdose. The fact-based film is based on Jeff German’s book, “Murder in Sin City.”

“What Doesn’t Kill You” (Sony; $24.99, DVD; April 28) with Mark Ruffalo (“Zodiac”), Ethan Hawke (“Training Day”) and Amanda Peet (“The Whole Nine Yards”) in an R-rated melodrama about two South Boston friends who end up working for a crime boss and plan a final heist so they can then go straight.

“While She Was Out” (Anchor Bay; $27.99, DVD; April 28) with Kim Basinger (“L.A. Confidential”) and Lukas Haas (“Alpha Dog”) in a violent R-rated thriller about some thugs who terrorize a suburban housewife who goes shopping at a mall on Christmas Eve.

Television

“Dallas: The Complete Eleventh Season” (Warner; $39.99, DVD; April 21) with Larry Hagman, Barbara Bel Geddes, Patrick Duffy and Priscilla Presley in a three-disc set with all 30 episodes from the 11th year of the prime-time soap about the oil-rich Ewing family.

“House of Saddam” (HBO; $29.99, DVD; now available) with Igal Naor (“Munich”) and Shohreh Aghdashloo (“House of Sand and Fog”) in a four-part TV-MA miniseries that examines Iraq’s dictator, Saddam Hussein, who seized control of the country in a bloody coup in 1979.

“Mission: Impossible — The Sixth TV Season” (Paramount; $54.99, DVD; April 28) with Peter Graves, Greg Morris, Peter Lupus and Lynda Day George in a six-disc set with all episodes from the sixth season of the inventive espionage series.

“Spin City: The Complete Second Season” (Shout! Factory; $39.99, DVD; April 28) with Michael J. Fox and Carla Gugino in a four-disc set with all 24 episodes from the sophomore year of the sitcom about a political strategist and his interplay with dysfunctional City Hall staff members.

Children/Family

“Being Green” (Genius; $14.99, DVD; now available) with Paul Rudd (“Role Models”) in a Sesame Workshop environmental tale during which Elmo and Abby Cadabby learn about recycling and conserving water and energy.